Rail puller



.1111.274942v R. L. sH'A'MBAUGH l `2,271,311 RAIL FULLER y v I Filed March 1:5, 1941 fm2/VE rs.

amount of time.

Patented Jan.' 27, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,271,311 RAIL FULLER Raymond Lynn Shambaugh, West Lafayette, Ind. Application March 13, 1941, Serial No. 383,118`

16 Claims.-

This invention relates to a device for lifting rails, particularly for lifting rails such as street car rails which are embedded in -apavement The rails of street car tracks are usually embedded in the pavement of a street, with the upper surface of the rails level with the upper surface of the street.y The rails are spiked down on ties which lie below the surface of the pavement and often below the pavement itself. When the street car service is abandoned, it is desirable to remove the rails. This is partly because the rails have considerable salvage value, and partly because in re-paving the street it is desirable to have the rails removed. The ties, however, have little or no salvage value and their presence beneath the pavement offers very'little disadvantage. In this situation, it is desirable in removing the rails to do so without disturbing the ties, and without disturbing any' more of the original pavement than is necessary.

It is the object of my invention to provide a device which will remove the rails from a pavement in which they are embedded, without disturbing the ties, and with a minimum disturbance of the pavement; and which will do this inexpensively. In addition, it is my object to provide -a device which will remove rails quickly, not only to reduce expense, but so that the street may be taken out of service for aj minimum In accomplishing these urposes, I provide a rail-lifting device whic omprises a pair of runners adapted to lie on opposite sides of a rail. These runners are provided near their rear ends with a rail-lifting member, and they'I extend for- -wardly from that member asuicient distance to overlie the pavement adjacent the rail at the point where initial lifting of the rail occurs. The forward ends of the runners are held down against. the surface of they pavement, as by the weight of the tractor, which pulls them. The rail-lifting m'enber rides beneath a lifted portion of the rail when the device is pulled forwardly by the tractor and lifts.the rail ahead of such member. At the same time, forward portions of the runners hold the adjacent pavement in place, so that only narrow strips of vpavement along each sideof the rail are disturbed..

For initially raising the end of a rail into position over the rail-lifting member, any suitable means may be used,A but in the preferred form of my invention I associate with the runners` a ners, and the hoist of the crane may then be used in co-operation with the runner structure in the rail lifting operation. Thus, it may be used for initially lifting the end of a rail into position to be engaged by the rail-engaging member on the runners, and for certain otheroperations. In addition, the truck crane may be used to lift the runners orf the ground so that they may be transported.

The accompanying drawing shows a 'preferred form of machine embodying my invention. 4In such drawing, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the machine,` with parts broken away to expose the rail to full View; Fig. 2 is a plan of the machine shown in Fig. 1 but with the crane and portions of the tractor omitted; Fig. 3 shows the lifting sheave of the crane in association with a pair of rail-lifting tongs; and Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the device of Fig. 1, with parts broken away to show certain details of construction.

The machine is shown in place on a pavement I0. Beneath this pavement Il) are vties II to which the rail'I2 is held by spikes I3 and from which it is being removed. The two runners I4 rest on the pavement on opposite sides of the rail I2, and they are spaced from the rail a suilicient distance to clear the flanges of the rail.

They are desirably spaced more than just suflif ing member.

cient to clear the rail, and this spacing depends upon the type of pavement, since some pavement will inevitably be torn up in pulling the rail out of its embedded position in they pavement, and

lthe amount will depend on the type of pavement.

.easier to break. With concrete pavement which extends up to the rail, it sometimes' is desirable to iirst break, as with air hammers, a strip of pavement along each side oft the rail.` In that case, the runners are spaced so-that they rest on-unbroken pavement. y

The runners I4 are held in space d relationship by means of cross members I5 located near the front ends of the runners. Near their rear ends, the runners are arranged to'support a rail-lift- 'l'his may be a shoe or slide adapted to have a lifted portion of a rail slide over it. It may also be a shaft, which may carry a roller. As shown, the runners are provided v type of pavement involved.

with bearings for the reception of a shaft I6 which carries a roller II, disposed on that shaft between the runners.

Desirably, there is more than one set of bearings for the shaft I6, at difwhile the roller is best positioned at as. low a point as possible, it must be high enough to clear the debris resulting from the rail-pulling operation, and the amount of such debris and the size of pieces in such debris depends upon the The runners I4 must be heavy and stiff. They are desirably of iron, and may be either built up or of some standard shape. I consider especially suitable beams formed of a 'pair of channels fastened back to back, and have used beams built up of four Z bars fastened to a plate, to for'm a beam twelve inches in vertical thickness. VOf the standard shapes, I consider an H beam especially suitable, for it combines strength and rigidity with flange walls which will lie flat on the pavement, and will give a good bearing surface. Such H beam runners also provide inwardly open channel passages lengthwise of the runners, through which debris from the rail lifting operation may pass out to the rear. The forward ends of the runners I4 desirably have their lower corners cut away, and the'lower flanges curved upwardly so that' the runners will ride over any slight obstruction.'

The runner structure is pulled by a tractor, and for this purpose I provide near the frontof the runners a heavy cross member such as a bar 20 by which the runner structure may be secured to a tractor. The tractor used may be of any convenient type, either of the track-type or`of the wheel-type. The tractor is desirably fairly heavy, and may be weighted if necessary; for the forward ends of the runners extend beneath the tractor so that the weight of the tractor will serve to hold those runners down.

I have used a heavy truck to pull the runners, and show in the drawing a portion of a tractor of this sort. The truck is positioned with its rear axle 2I over the forward ends of the runners, and the runners vare secured-thereto by means lof cables 22 extending around the bar 20 and around the axle 2l. Desirably, there is some clearance between the axle and the runners, for

this insures good traction but still limits upward movement of the forward ends of the runners.

While the structure heretofore described is sufficient for most operations involved in rail removal the preferred form of my device em.

bodies certain other structures.

In such preferred embodiment 'of my invention,

the tractor carries a crane. The boom 30 of the crane extends rearwardly over the runners I 4 and its free end is secured to the upper ends of up-.

rights 3I supported on the rear ends of the runners I4`and fastened thereto, desirably b'y a connection which is .not rigid; As shown, the run-'- ners carry angles 25 fastened as by rivets to the hold the runners rearwardly with r upright to the runner. The elongation of the hole in the angle permits the upright some freedom of pivotal movement, so that no forward pull on 'the runners is transmitted through the boom.

'I'he boom 30 is arranged to be lifted by the boom line 32 so that the runners and parts car'- ried by them can be lifted bodily when it is desired to transport them from place to place.

To assist in'4 this lifting of therunners oifthe ground, some means is desirably provided near the front end of the runners-for lifting those front ends. Such means is desirably also useful to truck when, as occasionally happens, i is necessary to. move the runners backward. This means 'may be a releasable connection between the runners and a point on the boom near its pivot point 33, but more conveniently, I provide a winch 34 either as -part of the crane or (as shown) o'n the rear end of the truck frame. This winch 34 may beeither hand operated by a handle 36 or may be power-operated. K It conveniently has two cables the ends of which are provided with hooks adapted to be received in eyes mounted on the runners I4.

The hoist of the crane has its sheaves 31 and 38 positioned close to, and desirably between, the uprights 3l.' The movable shave 38 vsupports a lifting hook 39 which is adapted to receive a pair of rail-lifting tongs 40. The hoist sheaves 31 and 38 have associated with them a hoist cable 4I by the truck.

runners and lyingwithin the channel of theuprights3l A bolt 26 passing through a hole in the web of each .channel-shaped upright v3I and through a vertically elongated hole in. the upright leg of the associated angle 25 fastensthe tions, will not readily pass ,overthe roller or other. rail-lifting member. When that is the case. the

In using my device, the runners are positioned on oppositel sides-of the rail which is to be removed, and spaced apart a distance suitable to the pave ent in which the rail is embedded. The

rear en s of the runners are positioned adjacent an end of the rail to be removed, or if no free end is available, then the rail is cut. With the roller IT and its shaft I6 removed the rail-lifting tongs 40 are brought intoV engagement with the rail near a free or cut end, and the tongs are then lifted by means of. the crane hoist. When the rail has been lifted a suflicient distance to permit it, the roller IIv and shaft I6 are replaced, and the rail is then lowered and permitted to rest on the roller I1. The lifting tongs 40 are then removed. The tractor is then operated to pull the runners forwardly. As they move forwardly the roller Il vrolls beneath the lifted portion of the rail I2 and lifts the rail ahead of the roller. The A runners I4-extend vfar enough forward in engagement with'the pavement alongside the rail so that they overlie the pavement at the point where initial rail-lifting'occurs. 'I'he'y are' held down by the rail reaction and by the weight of the tractor, and they hold the pavement in placealongside the railwhile thel railis being lifted out of such pavement. Narrowstrips of pavement immediately adjacent the rail are torn outy during this operation, and the spikes which hold the rail on the ties are pulled out of such ties. 'I'hese spikes, and the debris from the broken strips of pavement, pass .out between the runners I4 and beneath the roller I1 and are left largely piled in place in the narrow break in the pavement. I

In some track, rail sections are fastened together with fish plates which extend below thev base flanges of the rail,v or the rail has fastened to it other devices which extend below those base anges. Such devices, under operating condiect to the hoist will co-operate in the lifting operation. Thetongs maybebrought into engagement with the rail adjacent .such devices as they approach the roller. The rail may then be lifted by the hoist 4the small extra amount necessary to permit the rail lifting member to pass under the downwardly extending portion of the device. The tractor may then continue its forward pull, and as soon as the obstructing device lies above the roller, the hoist and tongs may-be released. In actual operation, this retards progress but very little. Usually, it is not even necessary to stop forward movement to permit removal ofthe tongs, -for they may usually be removed simply by operation of the crane hoist alone.

In addition, the rails of a track are usually interconnected at some points by spacing-bars. I have found that in many cases these will break, but usually it is desirable to cut them, either when they are encountered in the rail lifting operation, or by locating them and cutting them ahead of the rail lifting operation. A single cut is all that is necessary, Afor even if it be close to one rail, the rest of the bar will pull out with the opposite rail.

I have found that with my device it is possible to remove railssubstantially continuously at the rate of from two to four miles an hour, and to vtravel for blocks at a time without any stop.l

n some occasions, however, especially with very old rail, the rail will break, either at a joint or elsewhere. In that case, the device. is lmoved forward so lthat it clears the broken-off rail andv the rail-lifting tongs 4U and the hoist hook 39 are again used to lift the end of the still-embedded portion of the rail. This operation, however, is relatively simple, and even though it must be repeated several times in a block, rail removal with my device -is much more rapid than with any other arrangement of which I am aware. i

In addition to the rapidity with whichmy device operates, however, it has the further advantage that only a small portion of the pavement is disturbed. This small portion can be readily repaired and the street can be continued in use without complete re-paving, andeven without paving of the whole areal rbetween the-rails.

yare' moved, said member being spaced above the pavement-engaging surface of said runners suiii- `ciently to clear debris created by the rail-lifting,

Moreover, because of the rapidity with which my device operates, and because of the fact that it disturbs a minimum .portion of the pavement, it

is necessary in most cases to take the street outof service for only short periods of time. Indeed,

` in some cases portions of the street have continued in use, save for the immediate block in which my device has been operating. In addition, where the device is operated only during the day time, the runners can readily be picked up and transported by the tractor away from move beneath and lift the rail as the runners are moved, said runners extending forwardly of said Amember to overlie the pavement at the 'point of initial movement of the rail, and means restrainingv upward movement of said runners at said point; to limit the amount of pavement disturbed by the movementof the rail out of said pavement. y 2. A device for lifting rails embedded in a pavesaid'runners extending forwardly of said member to overlie the pavement at the point of initial'movement of the rail, and means restraining upward movement of said runners at said point, to limit the amount of pavement disturbed by th-e movement of the rail out of said pavement.

3. A device for lifting rails embedded in apavement, comprising a pair of runners adapted to rest on, and to be moved along the pavement on opposite sides of a` rail tobe lifted, a rail supporting member on said runners and adapted to move beneath and lift the rail as'the runners are moved, said runners extending forwardly of said member to overlie the pavement at the point of initial movement of the rail, and a tractor for pulling said runners and acting on the 'forward ends of said runners to restrain with its weight upward movement thereof.

4. A device for lifting rails embedded in a pavement, comprising a pair of runners adapted to rest on, and to be moved along the pavement on opposite sides of a rail to be lifted, a rail supporting member on said runners and adapted to move beneath and lift the rail as the runners are moved, said member being spaced above the pavement-engaging surface of said runners sufflciently to clear debris created by the rail-lifting, said runners extending forwardly of said member to overliethe pavement at the point of initial movement of therail, and a tractor for pulling said runners and acting on the forward ends of said runners torestrain with its weight upward movement thereof.

5. A device for lifting rails. in a continuous operation, comprising a pair of runners adapted ber on said runners and adapted to 'be advanced beneath a lifted portion of therail to lift the rail ahead of said member, said runners extending` forwardly of said member to the point of initial movement of the rail, means for restraining the forward ends of said runners against upward movement, to hold in place said tiesand the material in which they are laid.

6. A device for lifting rails in 'a continuous operation, comprising a pair of runners adapted to lie on opposite sides of a rail over the ties to which said rail is secured, a rail-engaging member on said runners and adapted to be advanced beneath a lifted portion of the rail to lift the rail ahead of said member, said runners extendling forwardly of said member to the point of initial movement of the rail, and a tractor for pulling said runners and acting on theforward ends of said runners to restrain with its weight upward movement thereof.

7. A device for lifting a rail ermedded in a pavement, comprising a movable rail-support spaced curs to hold said pavement'against being disturbed by said lifting, said hold-down means being restrained against upward movement by the resistance of the rail to lifting, and a tractor to pull said rail-support and acting on said holddown means to restrain with its weight upward movement thereof.

8. A device for lifting a rail embedded lin a` pavement, comprisingv a movable rail-support spaced upwardly from the pavement and adapted by forward movement beneath a liftedportion of the rail to lift the rail ahead of said support, means overlying the' pavement on opposite sides of the rail over the portion where initial movement occurs to` hold said pavement against being disturbed by said lifting, and a tractor to pull said for transport. 1

11. A device for lifting rails as defined in claim v 3, in combination with hoist mechanism supported by` said lrunners above said rail-supporting membenand poweroperating mechanism for said hoist carried by said tractor,` said hoist being adapted to lift a rail to position for engagement on said rail-supporting member.

12., A device for lifting rails as deiined in'claim 3, -in combination with hoist mechanism supported by said runners above said rail-supportingmember, said hoist '.being adapted to lift a rail to position for engagement on said rail-.supporting member.

13. A device for uiting vrails as defined in ciaim- 3, in combination with a hoist boom on said tractor, means on 'vsaid runners for supporting the free end of said boom andA connecting said boom to said runners, lift means on said boom in posi. I I

tion to lift a rail to position for engagement on said rail-supporting member, and operating mechanism on said tractor for said lift means and for lifting said boom to lift said runners for transport, said operating mechanism being positioned to aid with its weight in restraining upward movement of the forward ends of said runners.

14. A device for lifting rails, comprising a pair of runners adapted to lie on opposite sides of a rail to be lifted and to overlie the rail bed at a point of initial movement of the rail as it is pulled to limit disturbance of said rail bed during the'rail-lifting operation, a hoist adapted to lift a rail between said runners and to react against said runners, a tractor for moving said runners,

and hoist-operating mechanism supported on said tractor. A

15. A device for lifting rails, comprising a. pair of runners adapted to lie on opposite sides of a rail to bel lifted and to overlie the rail bed at a A point of initial movement of the rail as it is pulled to limit disturbance of said rail bed during the rail-lifting operation, a mobile crane associated with said runners and positioned to aid with its weight to restrain upward movement of said runners, the hoist mechanism of said crane being connected with said runners to exert hoist-reaction downwardly against said runners. 4

16. A device for lifting rails, comprising holddown runners 'adapted to overlie a. rail-bed over areas adjacent to the sides of a rail to be lifted and adapted to be moved along the rail-bed, said runners extending forwardly to the point. of initial movement of the rail to limit disturbance of aid rail-bed as said rail is lifted therefrom, and hoist-mechanism associated with said holddown means to restrain with its weight upward -movement of the forward ends ofvsaid runners and arranged to exert hoist reaction downwardly against said runners at a rearward point thereon.

RAYMOND LYNN SHAMBAUGH. 

